If you are looking for a prostate cancer treatment, what are your options? Treatments vary significantly from case to case. Because prostate cancer is usually very slow growing, one often-prescribed treatment is no treatment at all. This is called "watchful waiting", in which action is only taken if the cancer starts spreading. If a man is in his 70s and his cancer is contained within the prostate gland, the best treatment is usually watchful waiting because the risks involved with treating it outweigh the fact that the man is probably going to die from something completely unrelated to the prostate cancer.
If, however, a man is diagnosed with prostate cancer in his 40s or 50s, the cancer needs to be attacked because there is a good chance that, in this man's lifetime, the cancer will start spreading. Options to attack this cancer include surgery, radiation therapy, as well as other treatments such as hormonal therapy. Surgery is often a good option is the cancer is contained within the prostate gland, as is radiation therapy.
Side effects may include erectile dysfunction, nerve damage, or involuntary urine leakage. The same side effects are present in radiation therapy. One treatment option, which has been getting some media attention, is High Intensity Focused Ultrasound. Supposedly it works the same as radiation therapy without the harmful side effects.
If this type of cancer is in its latter stages (meaning it has spread from the prostate gland) or if the cancer is reoccurring, more treatment options are considered.
Nick has a more detailed look in prostate cancer treatment.
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